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By Suzanne Blake
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Democrats’ midterm victory could put some of the party’s most ambitious Social Security proposals back on the congressional agenda.
For Americans, that could translate to higher benefits, changes to cost-of-living adjustments or potentially making wealthy Americans pay Social Security taxes on more of their earnings.
Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in Tuesday’s midterm elections, which means the party could have the power to advance Social Security legislation once the new Congress takes office in January.
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However, President Donald Trump will still have the power to veto legislation, and Democrats are not expected to necessarily have enough votes to override him.
Despite that, recent proposals to tax more of high earners’ wages have attracted support from several Republicans, and Democrats and Trump have overlapping interests in reducing taxes paid by retirees.
Why It Matters
Social Security is facing a looming financial deadline regardless of which party controls Washington.
The latest trustees' projections indicate that Social Security's Old-Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund could exhaust its reserves in the fourth quarter of 2032. If Congress allowed that to happen without changing the law, the continuing revenue would only be sufficient to cover about 78 percent of scheduled retirement and survivor benefits.
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What To Know: 5 Ideas To Fix or Repair Social Security
Impending Social Security cuts may push Democrats to put Social Security legislation on the floor with their new congressional majority, even if some bills could face a presidential veto.
Newsweek compiled a list of the biggest ideas Democrats could pursue.
Eliminate or Raise the Social Security Tax Cap
Many Democrats have gotten behind the idea of requiring high earners to pay Social Security payroll taxes on more, or all, of their wages.
Workers and employers currently each pay a 6.2 percent Social Security payroll tax on earnings up to $184,500 in 2026. Any earnings above that taxable maximum aren't subject to the tax. So, someone earning $200,000/year pays Social Security tax on about 92 percent of their income, while someone earning $1 million pays it only on 18/5 percent of their income.
According to the Alliance for Retired Americans, eight Democratic Senate candidates seeking Republican-held seats supported eliminating or raising the cap. That included Josh Turek in Iowa, Sherrod Brown in Ohio, Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, Troy Jackson in Maine, Annie Andrews in South Carolina, Adam Hamilton in Kansas, Angie Nixon in Florida and James Talarico in Texas.
This proposal is unique because it has attracted at least some Republican interest.
Elizabeth Warren, the Democratic senator from Massachusetts, and Bernie Moreno, the Republican senator from Ohio, called lifting the payroll tax cap a "common-sense solution" earlier this year. And Republican Representatives Tom Cole of Oklahoma and Lloyd Smucker of Pennsylvania have also indicated they would consider higher payroll taxes as part of a Social Security solution.
“I expect Democrats to push proposals that increase taxes on higher earners, improve benefits, and protect access to Social Security services. But the math doesn't care who won yesterday,” Michael Ryan, a finance expert and the founder of MichaelRyanMoney.com, told Newsweek.
“The retirement trust fund is projected to run short of reserves in 2032… Democrats can make this a legislative priority, but a lasting fix still needs an agreement that can survive Trump's veto.”
Experts say eliminating the cap alone would not completely solve Social Security's financial problems. But of the major Democratic Social Security proposals, some version of a higher payroll tax cap may have one of the better chances of eventually becoming part of a bipartisan Social Security deal because Republican lawmakers have already publicly entertained the concept.
Democrats Could Revive the Social Security 2100 Act
Democrats also already have a blueprint for Social Security changes sitting in Congress.
Representative John Larson introduced a new version of the Social Security 2100 Act in June. And a Senate version was introduced in July by Richard Blumenthal, alongside Senators Elissa Slotkin, Ben Ray Luján, Sheldon Whitehouse and Tammy Duckworth.
This legislation would go considerably further than simply putting Social Security on better financial footing.
The bill would provide an across-the-board increase in Social Security benefits and adopt a cost-of-living adjustment intended to better reflect seniors' expenses.
On top of this, the five-month waiting period for Social Security Disability Insurance would be eliminated and the current limit on wages subject to Social Security payroll taxes would be gone after 2026.
Additionally, Social Security taxation would now apply to certain net investment income.
The proposal would also temporarily increase benefits by adjusting Social Security's benefit formula from 2027 through 2036.
A Democratic Congress would give the legislation a much better opportunity to receive hearings and potentially reach a floor vote. But enactment of the entire package under Trump would be considerably more difficult.
Democrats Want Social Security COLAs to Better Reflect Seniors' Costs
Another long-term Democratic proposal is changing how Social Security's yearly cost-of-living adjustment is calculated.
The Social Security Expansion Act introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders and other Democrats proposes a COLA built around the spending levels of older Americans rather than the consumer price index currently used for Social Security COLAs.
The argument is that retirees devote a different share of their budgets to health care and housing than younger workers do, so the current COLA measure may not accurately capture the actual inflation seniors experience.
“This is the time to put forth legislation to help fund current and future benefits for Americans,” Kevin Thompson, the CEO of 9i Capital Group, told Newsweek. “There will need to be substantial compromise and potentially tax increases to offset future liabilities.”
Higher Social Security Benefits
Some Democrats want Congress to go beyond preventing future cuts and increase benefits now.
The Social Security Expansion Act, introduced in the Senate by Sanders alongside Warren and other Democratic senators, calls for an across-the-board benefit increase, a higher minimum benefit for long-term low-wage workers and a revised COLA calculation.
It would help finance those changes by applying Social Security payroll taxes to earnings above $250,000, creating a so-called "donut hole" in which earnings between the existing taxable maximum and $250,000 would initially remain untaxed. It would also apply a tax to certain investment gains.
While only 7-8 percent of workers earn more than $184,500, the U.S. added more than 441,000 new millionaires in 2025 alone (1,200/day), accounting for nearly half of all new millionaires worldwide, according to Investopedia. The U.S. is also home to over 3,000 billionaires. However, 79 percent of personal wealth is in financial assets, not salary.
A House version of the legislation was introduced by Representative Val Hoyle of Oregon.
Taxing Social Security Benefits Could Be an Area for Compromise
One area of overlap between Democrats and Trump concerns the federal taxation of Social Security benefits.
During the 2024 campaign, Trump pledged that “seniors should pay no tax on Social Security." He repeated that goal in his 2025 address to Congress.
However, his tax legislation enacted in 2025 did not actually repeal federal taxation of Social Security benefits but created a temporary additional deduction for people aged 65 and older.
Some Democrats have proposed going further.
The You Earned It, You Keep It Act introduced by Democrat Representative Angie Craig would permanently eliminate federal income taxes on Social Security benefits while applying Social Security payroll taxes to earnings above $250,000.
What Happens Next
The Democrats' victory does not immediately change Social Security.
The new members of Congress will not take office until January, and any legislation passed by the new Democratic majority would still need Trump's signature unless Democrats could assemble the two-thirds support necessary to override a veto.
Both Democrats and Republicans will need to address Social Security’s impending financial crisis regardless of who is in the White House, though.
“Both parties keep talking about protecting Social Security,” Ryan said. “The longer they wait to agree on how to pay for it, the harder the choices become.”
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jason Lemon and Gray R. Thomas
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